I’ve been doing quite a bit of reading this summer, and that has included some really excellent novels. Rather than keeping them all to myself, I figured I should share them with you fine people. Without further ado, these are all of the novels I’ve read for the first time this summer in the order that I read them.
Frankenstein: The Original 1818 Edition (1818) by Mary Shelley
I know what you’re thinking. “There’s no way in hell that Josh has never read Frankenstein.” You’re right. Not only have I read it multiple times dating back to middle school, but it’s actually my favorite novel I’ve ever read. What you may not realize is that the edition most people (including myself) have read is the one published in 1831. That edition included additional details regarding how Victor Frankenstein was able to bring the monster to life as well as changing and expanding upon the backstory of Elizabeth, his eventual wife. All of the most important and memorable story beats are present and remain the same. I still prefer the 1831 edition since it is more fleshed out and complete, but I recommend horror fans check out Mary Shelley’s original version to see the origins of arguably the most famous horror story in English literature.
Everything the Darkness Eats (2023) by Eric LaRocca
You are guaranteed at least two things from every Eric LaRocca story: incredibly human portrayals of queer characters (both protagonists and antagonists) and some of the most upsetting and heinous acts ever committed to the page. Everything the Darkness Eats is no exception. The plot revolves around several characters who inhabit a small Connecticut town called Henley’s Edge (the edition I preordered even came with a map of the town). There’s a man named Ghost who is dealing with trauma associated with a horrific accident, a gay police officer named Malik who recently moved to the town with his husband, and an enigmatic old man named Heart Crowley who might be more than he seems. All of this is set against the backdrop of a string of recent disappearances of different citizens of the town.
This has immediately become my favorite story from LaRocca thus far. It deftly combines the seedy underbelly of small town dynamics you can expect from a Stephen King novel with the cosmic horror and depravity of Clive Barker or Grant Morrison. Some particularly brutal moments of horror were so intense that I felt physically nauseous at times.
This book is certainly not for everyone. This comes with a trigger warning for virtually every category you can imagine, but it’s also a beautiful read if you’re able to stomach the distressing material.
The Remaking (2019) by Clay McLeod Chapman
Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman was my favorite novel of last year, so I decided to dive into some of his previous novels this summer starting with The Remaking. The premise of this novel is a great one: the residents of Pilot’s Creek, Virginia committed an unspeakable crime in the 1930s that results in the death of a witch named Ella Louise and her daughter Jessica. The spirit of Jessica then proceeds to force the residents of the town to recount this shameful story over the decades by infecting the minds of different storytellers with a desperate yearning to spread it. It’s reminiscent of the cursed video tape in The Ring in that regard.
This starts in the form of a campfire story, but it evolves with the decades. It takes the form of a schlocky horror film in the 1970s that becomes a cult classic despite a tragedy on set. Then it evolves into of a self-aware reboot in the 1990s with a similarly cursed production. Finally, it becomes the subject of a true crime podcast in the 2010s.
For as great as the story is, what really makes the book shine is Chapman’s obvious love of the horror genre. The entire book is a love letter to horror and how it has evolved over the decades. It’s also packed to the gills with references that horror aficionados are bound to spot and appreciate. While I think anyone can enjoy this book regardless of their personal background, it’s a must read for any and all horror hounds.
Whisper Down the Lane (2021) by Clay McLeod Chapman
Continuing on my journey through Chapman’s oeuvre, I read Whisper Down the Lane. This novel focuses on two periods in time during the life of our protagonist. One time period being 2013 where the protagonist (going by Richard) is a teacher at an elementary school. The other time period is 1982 when he is an elementary school student himself (and revealed to be named Sean). Sean becomes embroiled in a scandal springing forth from the Satanic Panic conspiracy that had spread throughout the United States in the 1980s when parents, psychologists, journalists, and others became convinced that a cabal of Satanists had infiltrated schools as teachers to commit ritualistic child abuse. We now know that this panic was nothing more than fiction, but many young children were coerced into fabricating stories of ritualistic abuse at the hands of their teachers.
Sean is an example of a child whose lies keep stacking on top of each other in just such a case that destroys the lives of numerous people in his community as they become accused of abuse. Sean eventually changes his name to Richard as an adult and moves to a new town to try and escape his past. In 2013, it appears that someone knows Richard’s secret and begins tormenting him. Or is Richard doing these things himself and repressing his own memories? It’s a very chilling story that will make the reader question what is and is not real.
The novel also serves as an excellent portrayal of how people can be swept up in conspiratorial thinking and mob mentality. It feels especially relevant today with how easily conspiracy theories can spread through social media. That authenticity in the storytelling makes it all the more frightening.
Miss Corpus (2003) by Clay McLeod Chapman
That’s right. It’s a triple Chapper. The last Chapman novel I read this summer is Miss Corpus. I would describe it as a Southern Gothic anthology road-trip horror novel bathed in the darkest aspects of Americana. I can’t decide if that’s the best or worst description ever, but I’m rolling with it.
The book ostensibly has two protagonists. The first half of the novel follows a man named William Colby who is traveling from Virginia to Florida with the dismembered corpse of his wife packed into coolers in the back of his car. Each chapter is a pit stop along the way and the interesting characters he meets. Some chapters are told from the point of view of the people he meets, and some are told from his own perspective.
The second half of the book follows the story of Philip Winters whose teenage son has disappeared along with his friends after a night out. Philip refuses to accept that his son is dead while his family and the families of the other missing teens attempt to grieve and move forward with their lives. Eventually Philip embarks on his own road-trip North from Florida.
What makes this novel so effective are the macabre slice-of-life portraits of the American South that the protagonists engage with during their journeys. One chapter in particular has even been adapted into a feature film called The Boy (no, not the creepy doll one) whose screenplay was also written by Chapman.
These chapters run the gamut from funny to tragic to horrifying and everything in between. It’s a very poignant and entertaining read.
Such Sharp Teeth (2022) by Rachel Harrison
If you’ve been reading this Substack for any amount of time, then you know that I love werewolves. With that in mind, there was no way I was going to miss Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison.
The premise of the book is a familiar one. A woman in her late-twenties named Rory is visiting her hometown from the big city when she is attacked by some unknown beast (spoiler alert: it’s a werewolf). She miraculously survives the attack, but now she is infected with the curse of lycanthropy and slowly becoming the very monster that attacked her. In the meantime, she must balance her life and relationships with friends, family, and love interests with trying like hell not to eat any of them during the next full moon.
While that premise is certainly a familiar one, it’s how the characters themselves are written by Harrison that makes this such a good book. Rory is a flawed but still likable protagonist whose bodily transformation mirrors the pregnancy that her twin sister is also currently experiencing. There are numerous twists and turns both in the supernatural aspects of the story along with the personal drama that defines the characters. It’s also a briskly paced read that is fully aware of the tropes associated with werewolf stories, and it isn’t afraid to subvert or wink at them as the story unfolds.
Mister Magic (2023) by Kiersten White
Sometimes a story taps into something in the cultural zeitgeist that resonates so clearly that I’m shocked it hasn’t been done before. Mister Magic by Kiersen White is definitely one of those stories. It plays with the nostalgia millennials have for the children’s shows of their childhood and the phenomenon of the Mandela Effect with regards to remembering those programs.
Mister Magic is about one such children’s program that was canceled in the early 1990s. It had a profound impact on everyone who had watched it, yet there is no actual evidence that it ever even existed save for the memories of those who swear they had grown up watching it. There are no clips or episodes on YouTube, no mention of it in newspapers from the time, and no directors, writers, or production companies known to have been associated with it. Despite all of this, a new podcast has been announced that claims to be hosting a reunion of the child actors who had starred on the final season of the show.
The protagonist of Mister Magic is a woman named Val who had been one of the six child stars on the Mister Magic show. She has no memory whatsoever of her time on the show or of any of her costars, but she embarks on a trip with them to this reunion to try and piece together what happened thirty years ago. To say anything else would be a spoiler.
I found this book to be extremely effective. One moment you’ll be feeling a profound sadness for what these characters have endured, and the next you’ll feel a chill run down your spine as you attempt to unravel the mystery behind this extremely creepy children’s show. The entire novel also serves as an allegory for some of the real life experiences of the author that are poignantly revealed in the acknowledgements.
Whalefall (2023) by Daniel Kraus
How’s this for an elevator pitch? A teenager is swallowed by a massive sperm whale while scuba diving and must figure out a way to escape the leviathan’s stomach before he is either digested or run out of air. That is the basic story of Whalefall by Daniel Kraus.
Whalefall is the most recent novel I’ve read, and boy was it a wild ride. It follows the story of a teenager named Jay who had a very complicated relationship with his father Mitt. When his father dies at sea, Jay tries to prove himself to his deceased father and all those who knew him by diving down to that same location and retrieving his remains. Things get progressively worse from there.
The story structure is a fascinating one. Chapters aren’t numbered in the traditional manner. Instead they are numbered by either the amount of oxygen remaining in Jay’s tank (starting with 3000 PSI) or the year of a memory that Jay is thinking back to. It’s an incredibly clever way to convey the tension and suspense that Jay is experiencing to the reader.
The book is also extensively researched by Kraus to make it as authentic as possible. It’s equal parts emotional, terrifying, disgusting, and exhilarating throughout with numerous twists and turns along the way. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
That wraps things up for now. I might do another list for fall if I read as many good books then as I have this summer. Until then, be sure and give some of these a read. You won’t be disappointed.